The Scorpion's Student
by Isy-dance
Summary: There was more than one clan whiped out. A young girl suffered this fate and has to cope with the loose of her whole family. And the one who saves her and becomes her new sensei is none other than their murderer...  OC-centered. Rated for later chapters!
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: um, enjoy?  
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**_Warnings: none, not yet at least  
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**_ Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I own the little girl, who will be named later. ^^_**

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><p><em>Itachi once said, every person dies like they were born. A monster, a shinobi, or an innocent. I never believed him and I know I wasn't the only one. I liked to think that everyone could choose for themselves whether to die as a hero or a wimp. In my eyes, everyone could change, even such a loudmouth like Hidan. I never thought I would be that wrong... <em>

_I cradled the lifeless body in my arms closer. It has been some time since it last moved and even longer since its last breath. I ran a hand tenderly over the smooth surface and stopped at the chest. No heartbeat, never again. I feel the familiar sting of tears trying to come from my eyes, but they couldn't. I stopped crying a long time ago... I shook my head and laughed, laughed about my pure stupidity. _

_Sure, people could change, Itachi's own brother was the best example for that, but in the end, one would still die the way they were born. I was no exception. I will die the way I lived, as a puppet, tied to its master's strings till the very last moment._

- 17 years ago -

The little girl quivered and curled into a ball. She was so afraid. Where was her father, her mother and all the others? She remembered them telling her to run away and to hide, but then there were all those screams and noises that even the storm was unable to drown and suddenly everything had been silent.

She didn't know what to do. The girl whimpered and pulled her knees up to her chest. She was wet and tired and scared and there was no one around to comfort her. "Well, what do we have here…?" The little girl squeaked in fear and whirled around. She looked up and her eyes went wide. In front of her was a large man with a mask in front of his face and an emotionless pair of eyes looking down at her. She whimpered again, pitifully.

The man chuckled darkly and she saw something glint behind his back. "You are too small for a puppet. I shall let you die fast." A metal tail with an iron tip dashed forth, aiming exactly at her heart. The girl let out a scream and instinctively raised her hands in defense.

There was a moment of complete silence as she felt nothing at all. No pain, no relief, nothing. Why?

She peaked through her fingers and saw a single fragile thin thread coming from one of her fingertips and ending on the tip of the metal tail. The man looked just as surprised as the girl herself and neither moved a muscle as they looked at the thread. She gulped, not daring to lower her hands a bit in fear of being stabbed. The man eyed her critically before sighing.

"Seems like I have to take you with me after all.", he grumbled. The thread broke as the large tail wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Too afraid to make a sound, the girl just watched her tormentor horrified.

The man didn't seem to care at all, he simply turned around and walked back towards her house. Her eyes widened when she saw all the bodies scattered on the ground, surrounded by pools of blood.

The bodies of her own family.

She spotted her parents, side by side, and felt tears dwell up in her eyes. A small, almost inaudible whimper escaped her lips. The man holding her captive sat her down on the floor, ordering her with a simple glare to stay where she was, before he lifted up two of the dead bodies, uncles of her she noted, and lifted them up with his tail. He then turned around and made a move to lift her up as well, but as he saw with what fear she looked at the corpses already wrapped up in his tail, he sighed.

He let the bodies fall down, picked her up and sat her down on him just behind his head. "One complaint, one word, and I will kill you.", he hissed. The girl nodded and curled up a bit while the man lifted up the dead bodies and started to move.

They traveled long without a stop through woods, plains and deserts and the little girl was starting to feel hungry and thirsty. She hadn't eaten since two days, and even when her stomach growled, she hadn't moved a muscle, neither had she made a single sound, aware of her destiny should she do so.

By now, she was just tired and cold and wanted to sleep, and forget about all those horrible things that happened. The blood, the screams, the following silence. She just wanted to get rid of it and fall into an exhausted, hopefully dreamless sleep. Her clothes were clinging to her body like glue and they were soaked enough for the little girl to feel like she was wrapped in ice. It felt like thousands of needles pricking her skin and numbing her limb. She had stopped shivering about a day ago and to be honest, she already missed it. It had been way better than the pain she had to endure now…

Finally she collapsed onto the other's head, energy spent and body too weak to keep going. The man was about to shout at her to get off, when he noticed that she looked like she was about to die. She watched him through half-lidded eyes, weakly trying to keep them open. There was a silent plea for food and rest in them and he sighed. Damn that girl. If he was going to be late because of her, he would kill her without hesitation…

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><p><strong>Please review! Reviews make me and my muse happy ^^<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: And** **here goes Chapter 2 ^^ I finished this earlier than I planned because I got such nice reviews and they fed my muse very well. Say thanks muse!  
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><strong><strong>Muse: Do I have to? *gets kicked under the table* Okay, okay... Thanks t<strong>****o _neonkitteh_**, **_StormDragon666 (_I like rants XD) and _Jasdeviishawsome__!_** **Now, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: ****Er... not mine? I wished it was though...**

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><p>When she woke up, they were in a cave, in the middle of nowhere. She was curled up in a ball on the cold hard ground, facing away from her 'savior' who seemingly did nothing but stare at the stone wall. The girl sat up weakly, her arms trembling as she used them to push herself of the ground, earning herself a glance from the other. He looked to her, his facial expression turning into one of disgust, before looking back forward without saying a word. The little girl shivered and curled up in a ball again, trying to get warm despite her lack of appropriate clothing.<p>

She only wore a thin shirt, short trousers and only thin shoes, and they were all still soaked. It was too cold outside for that kind of clothing, not to mention the icy sting it created on her skin… She sneezed and her stomach growled loudly, attraction the attention of the man on the far end of the cave.

He once again looked at her, but unlike before, he sighed. The girl flinched in fear of her savior having grown tired of her and slid back against the wall. There was a creaking sound and when she looked at the man, she saw that there was a crack running around his body. The girl's head perked up and when she took a closer look, the large round back had opened up and there was something inside the newly created wooden cavern.

The thing moved and she could see a head of red hair and a rather pale face. The person inside the wooden cavern straightened up and stretched his back once before sighing. "Come over here.", a clearly male voice stated and the figure waved at her. The girl could only stare at the man. His mud brown eyes narrowed and he glared at her. "I said, come over here.", he hissed angrily and the girl cringed before crawling over to the wooden shell and its owner. She tried to climb into it, but her shaking hands found no grip on the even surface. And even if she had managed to grasp it, her arms were to weak to pull her up anyway. She heard another sigh and looked up just in time to see two pale hands reach out for her.

A small whimper left her lips, but the man paid it no mind. He sat her down inside the shell before closing it with a single movement of his hand. The girl pressed herself against the very edge of the shell, shivering and sniffing and watching the man in front of her with wide, fearful eyes. The redhead sighed again and reached out for her. She tried to avoid his grasp, but the shell was too small and so all she could do when cold hands gripped her hips and lifted her up, was whimper... She was unceremoniously placed in the redhead's lap with a piece of his black cloak wrapped around her shoulders, which was surprisingly warm unlike its owner, and a blank glare was sent her way.

"No more complains.", the man snarled. The girl nodded dumbfounded and curled deeper into the cloak. The man raised his hands and the shell started to move again. He looked young. Not as young as herself with her ten years, but surely younger than her father. A moment later, the girl's view become clouded and she fell back in a pleasant sleep.

When she woke up this time, the first thing she saw was the face of a obviously worried man, looking out of the wooden shell they were in. There was a lot of noise and from the sound of it, the girl concluded that there must be a heavy storm outside. Strong enough to make the man stop his journey at least. The redhead noticed her gaze and glanced down at her. The girl sunk back into the warm cloak as if to hide herself and when her stomach growled loudly, she blushed. The redhead's facial expression turned to one of annoyance and he nodded behind him to a small pouch. "Food's in there. Take whatever you want.", he stated shortly.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then she practically leaped at the pouch. She rummaged through it until she found her most favorite food: Bento. She grinned widely and plopped back down in the redhead's lap, happily nibbling on her bento while the other threw her a look of disgust. Not like the girl cared about that. She had her bento and that was all she needed, even when the very man who murdered her family tried to kill her with his gaze right now. It looked like he was torn between shoving her off his lap and throwing her out of the as the girl gazed up to him, with a bit of rice sticking to her cheek and that expression of pure innocence on her face, he only huffed and let her be. He had other things to worry about.

The storm was slowing him down and if that nuisance wanted to sit in his lap, fine so be it. But, he had to make one thing clear. "If you make one sound, I will kill you. Understood?" The girl's eyes went wide at the smooth voice, sounding so different from the harsh one she had heard a few days ago, and she looked up in wonder. The red haired man glanced down to her and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her answer. She nodded and threw him a thankful look, nuzzling against his stomach.

The man's head snapped down and he snarled at her but the girl was already back to sleeping. He huffed again and concentrated back on the path in front of him. His fingers twitched as he steered his puppet and the chakra strings glowed in the dark shell. Unknown to him, the little girl was still awake and watching him intensely. Those strings... They looked similar to the thin thread she had created. So that was the reason she was still alive...

The rest of the journey was rather uneventful, safe for the occassional glares the girl earned herself by clutching onto the redhead like there was no tomorrow and refusing to get off his lap. He tolerated it though since as long as she was on his lap, she would be quiet and just stare ahead instead of whimpering patheticly. After a whole week of travel, the two of them finally arrived at their destination: A large cave somewhere in the middle of the Water country.

The man steered his... protection? disguise? ...whatever, inside and they walked through various corridors until they stopped in what looked like a living room. The very moment they stopped, the man opened the shell-protection-thingy, grapped the girl by her collar and lifted her out, letting go of her a moment later. She landed roughly on the hard floor and yelped in surprise and pain. The man snorted and got out himself, closing the shell after him and sealing it in a scroll.

"Now, girl. I am Akasuna no Sasori and this... this is your new home."

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><p><strong>Review please! Reviews and cookies make me happy and my muse productive ^^<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey there, fancy reading you again ^^ Thank you so much for your reviews! Special thanks to StormDragon666 for pointing out that I stated Sasori's name backwards.**

**Muse: I can't belive YOU stated it wrong. Aren't you always correcting your friend when she does that?**

**I know, that's why it's so embarrassing!  
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**Muse: *sigh* Anyway, she owns nothing and it's good that way...  
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**Hey!**

**Muse: On with the story! Enjoy ^^**

**(AN2: My auto-correction hates me... It changes Hiruko to Hiroku every time, god knows why! I corrected it, sorry for the mistake.)  
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><p>Sasori looked down to the girl quivering in front of him. "Listen, girl, if you bother me in any way or I'm growing tired of you, I <em>will<em> kill you. Understood?" The girl's eyes widened and she nodded quickly. Sasori's lips twitched. She was scared of him… Good. "Now, what is your name, girl?" She brightened visibly and beamed at him. "Haruko.", she exclaimed proudly. Sasori grimaced. 'Haruko'. 'Spring or sun child'. Perfect, just perfect really…

What kind of girl had he picked up? The scorpion huffed. "That won't fit any longer. I will give you a new name and you will listen to it. Got it?" The girl nodded and bowed her head. "Yes, master." Sasori froze. "What did you just call me?", he asked dangerously calm and silent. The girl fidget and wrung her hands nervously. "Master?", she answered hesitantly. Sasori's lips curled into a devious smirk. Maybe she wasn't as hopeless as he thought she was.

"Good girl. You will always call me that as a sign of respect for me and obedience to my rules." The girl nodded nicely and looked up at Sasori expectantly. Ah, right, the name… Sasori hummed thoughtfully. "Let's see… Your new name will be 'Noriko'. Do you know what that means?" The girl shook her head and Sasori's smirk widened. "It means 'law-abiding or observant child.' Fitting, don't you think?" The newly named Noriko forced a smile up to her master and nodded. "Yes, master." Sasori chuckled, pleased with how things developed, and turned around to pry the dead bodies out of Hiruko's iron grasp. "You will neither speak nor move unless you're told to.", he added as an afterthought.

Silence followed and when Sasori looked over his shoulder to check on his small companion, he saw the young girl shift from one foot to the other. "What?", he barked and Noriko flinched. "Master, what if I have a question or need to go to toilet?" Sasori sighed in annoyance. "Then you will address me and I will let you ask for permission unless I'm busy." Noriko hung her head. "Yes, master.", she said and the word came heavy over her lips. Sasori could basically hear how she forced down the urge to protest. "And what if…"

"_Silence!_", Sasori snapped, making his companion jump back in surprise. "I have better things to do than answering your pointless questions." He slung the corpses over his shoulders and sent the young girl a look that made her flinch. "Go and find yourself a room to sleep in and don't bother me. And whatever you find or see…" He turned around and fixed her with a threatening glare.

"Don't. Touch. _Anything_.", he growled. Noriko hung her shoulders, lowered her head and nodded shortly before Sasori turned back around and vanished in his workshop, leaving the scared and confused girl all by herself.

The young girl stood there for about half an hour, trembling and unsure of what to do. She was about having the worst day of her life! First, she had been brought to a cold and dark cave that was declared her new home, then she had been roughly thrown out of the safe wooden shell onto the hard stone ground and on top of that, she had been given a new name! Her beautiful, smooth name no longer her! Instead she had gotten a harsh name which had only one purpose and that was to remind her of her place. And now, the man had left her alone in this stupid, spooky cave!

Tears stung in her eyes as she bit her lip in order to hold back a frustrated scream. She had never felt so lost before! There had always been somebody to hold her hand, escort her to the park or play with her on rainy days. Her clan had been nothing but a large happy family and it was unfair that they were slaughtered while other, bad clans, were alive. She missed them. Even her disgusting, mean step-uncle…

Why wasn't she dead? She should be, but for some cruel reason faith decided to shove her into a murderer's arms.

The little girl shook her head and wiped the tears and their glistening trails off her cheeks. No, she had to survive. For her clan's sake. Haru… no, _Noriko_ raised her head and took a deep breath to calm herself. What had the redhead said again? Hadn't he ordered her to find a room for herself? Well then… Noriko eyed the two doors on either side of her critically before opening both.

She would not follow him to where he had gone. She liked her head where it was, thank you very much.

She peaked first into the right hallway, then into the left and finally she chose the one that looked less creepy and smelt less rotten. So, in her case, the right one. It would prove to be the wrong choice though. The very moment she opened the first door, she froze. A dozen bars were attached to the ceiling and something hand down from the hooks, something distinctively… human.

Noriko made a few hesitant steps back. But there was no rotten smell or blood, right? So she had to be wrong, right? She didn't even notice that her breath was getting shaky.

Noriko let her gaze wander and flinched. Okay, correction: At least there was no blood on the _walls._ At the far end of the room was another door and though it looked almost innocent, the floor in front of it was soaked with the dark red liquid, most of it seemingly dry. Noriko gagged and quickly looked away, not wanting to know what would happen if she threw up in here. Sasori surely wouldn't be happy about it. She was close to screaming on top of her lungs, the countless dead bodies making her tremble from head to toe.

She scrambled backwards, wanting out of that horror cabinet, but in her hurry, she tripped over what looked like an arm and fell against a row of bodies, knocking a few down with her. Noriko groaned and held her pounding head. When she tried to sit up, her hands met something that felt like a foot and Noriko drew in a shaky breath. She glanced down slooowly and caught sight of a leg.

Now she _did_ scream and loud at that. She hurriedly scrambled out of the pile of bodies and fled to an empty corner of the room, as far away as possible. Pressed against the wall, Noriko tried to keep herself from screaming her lungs out. Bodies. Dead bodies. Her new master collected them in an oversized closet! What the hell had she gotten herself into? She had had enough of corpses for a while and she had probably opened the only room filled with them! Faith had to love her…

Noriko swallowed and forced herself to take a closer look. If this was what her master did, she would have to get used to it. Or die. She had yet to decide which option was better. As her gaze swept over the corpses she noticed a similarity between all of them and sat up abruptly. Lines! They all had the exact same lines on their arms, legs and chests!

She gathered her courage and crawled over to the pile of bodies, slowly extending a hand. She ran her fingers over a leg and her eyes went wide. It was hard and smooth… and it was made of wood!

Wood! Of course! Her master didn't collect corpses, he collected puppets, like the one they traveled in! Noriko let out a sigh of relief and plopped back to the floor. Her heart was pounding away in her chest, from the aftermath of the shock or relief she wasn't sure, but she knew one thing: Always take the more rotten smelling hallway. Even a corpse was better than running into this horror cabinet…

Noriko heaved a sigh and got to her feet. Now to find herself a room to sleep in…

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><p><strong>AN: Before I can post the next chapter,<strong> **I think I'll have to explain something: Itachi, Deidara and Hidan have yet to join Akatsuki, Orochimaru has yet to leave. Sorry, no cursing Hidan for you yet ^^ But believe me, once he joins, there will be more than enough cursing XD Anyway, the next chapter will include a little contest, so stay tuned!**

**Tell me what you think! Reviews make me happy and my muse creative. ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey, I'm back! *wave* Sorry for only updating once a week, but I have exams in the moment**** and I need to concentrate on those. Sorry *bows to you* Don't worry, I wrote enough already to make sure you won't have to suffer from my lack of time. And I'm sure as hell won't abandon this story ^^  
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><p>Sasori finished the last touches on his new puppets and sealed them away before getting up, his joints cracking. He stashed the scroll in one of many drawers and walked out of his workshop, making his way to his room. On the way there he noted that the young girl had disappeared from the living room, hopefully in search of an exit... He had heard her scream a couple of minutes ago, but why would he care? She probably stumbled upon his 'interogation room' or his puppet storage and if she got scared enough to <em>run away<em> after seeing that he had no use for her anyway. Of course he had checked for intruders, but after feeling no foreign chakra signature but hers he went back to his work. Even if he brought her along, he was _not_ going to play babysitter.

Sasori was just glad that everyone else was on a mission or they all would have known about his little appendage and he would have never lived that down. Akasuna no Sasori getting soft... As far as he knew, Kisame was in search of a partner, Zetsu was out spying, Kakuzu was most likely busy killing of his latest partner and his own partner was out, probably searching for little children. Speaking of little children... Sasori better kept the girl away from that pedophile snake... But he had to speak with Pein about this.

Sasori growled. Great, thanks to her he had to tell the leader that he had had mercy. What nonesense! He was about to use the girl for... Wait, what was he planning to do with the child anyway after he had brought her all the way to the Akatsuki hideout? Sasori stopped dead in his tracks. He had taken her with him in a moment of weakness, because her use of chakra strings had reminded him of himself, but now? What should he do? Train her to be a puppet master like himself? He sighed and shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He would worry about that later. He first had to speak with Pein. No use in worrying about something that could be dead in a few minutes. He walked to Pein's office and knocked politely. A silent 'Enter' was heard and Sasori walked inside. The office was dark and the air stuffy as always, but Pein didn't seem to mind at all.

"Sasori." "Pein.", Sasori greeted respectfully. Pein sighed and set down the scroll he was working on. "You will never call me Leader-san, won't you?", he asked. Sasori raised an eyebrow and gave him a blank look. Pein sighed again. "As I thought." Sasori's lips twitched but he kept his emotionless mask in place. "Pein, I need to talk with you about" "the child you brought along?", Pein finished. Sasori didn't even bother to ask how Pein knew about Noriko. He was used to Pein's ominscient behaviour by now... "Yes.", he simply answered. "Where did you find it?" "She is a member of the clan I was supposed to kill." Pein raised an eyebrow. "Then why didn't you kill her?" Sasori sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. "I don't know, Pein. She is capable of forming chakra strings and..." "Isn't that an ability solely used by Sand shinobi?", Pein interrupted. "That is the reason I let her live. Her clan lived as far away from the Sand as possible and yet, she has a talent only some Sand shinobi have." Pein hummed thoughtfully. "She will get into your way when you're on a mission. Luckily for you, though, the jinchuriki are not ready yet and we still have to get a partner for both Kisame and Kakuzu."

Sasori let out a low chuckle. "I thought Kakuzu has a partner." "Had.", Pain corrected. "He killed him along with the bounty they were after..." "So we lost another one." "Indeed. You have time until the jinchuriki are ready to train the child. If it isn't of use for us till then, it will die." Sasori snorted. "As if I let her live.", he answered and turned to go. Before he could cross the doorway, though, Pein spoke up. "Sasori." The puppet master looked over his shoulder at his leader, an eyebrow raised in question. "You already let her live.", he said blankly. Sasori's eyes narrowed at the statement, but he bit back a remark and instead left the room. Damn that leader to remind him of his weakness! He should kill her right away and safe himself a lot of trouble...

He opened the door to his room and his eyes went wide. There, on _his_ bed, lay the girl, sprawled across it like she owned it. Sasori's fingers twitched as he reminded himself not to kill her because of such a trival thing, but he couldn't stop his chakra from flaring dangerously. Somehow the girl seemt to feel the sudden disturbance, considering she stirred in her sleep, her facial expression turning to one of discomfort, and tried to cover herself with the blanket. Sasori would have none of it though. This was his lair, his room and his bed and the little brat was going to learn that right now. He grapped an edge of the blanket and pulled, hard, sending Noriko flying to the ground where she landed painfully on her backside. She yelped, the pain waking her up instantly, and sat up, rubbing her back soothingly.

For a moment she glared at Sasori, but the scorpion's deadly gaze reminded her _who_ she was glaring at and quickly lowered her head. "What makes you think that I will part my room with you? Or more precisely, my bed?" Noriko's cheeks burned and her only answer was an embarrassed mumble. "I didn't hear you!", Sasori snarled and Noriko flinched. "I just wanted to rest a bit...", Noriko repeated louder. Sasori let out a dry chuckle. "Then you should hurry up with finding your own room. And now get out before I decide you're not worth my time!", he barked and Noriko hurriedly scramble to her feet. She practically ran out, closing the door behind her just to have something between her and her master.

That was a close one. She really hadn't intended to take over her master's room, but hey, she was ten years old, had nearly starved for the better half of the week and had to watch her clan get killed, what do you expect? That she was going to run around as if nothing happened? When Noriko saw the bed her only thoughts were running along the lines of 'Sleep'. Luckily she had managed to sleep at least a bit before Sasori not so gently woke her up. Noriko rubbed her back and huffed. She missed her mother already. She would have at least warned her before she pulled away her blanket and she would have asked if she was alright after landing flat on her back. Noriko bit her lip.

No, no crying. If she started crying right now, she wouldn't be able to stop and she needed to rest badly. The girl looked at the door in front of her. It was a little further down the hallway on the wall opposite from Sasori's. It would be a short and easy escape route from her master's wrath. That might come in handy... Noriko opened the door and to her delight, a futon laid on the hard stone ground. The room was otherwise bare, but Noriko didn't give a damn. Sleep sounded good, no matter where. She went over to the futon and crawled underneath the blanket. No wait, that was wrong. It was good everywhere but in Sasori's bed...

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><p><strong>AN2: How did you like it? I promised you a contest<strong>**, so here it is: I want you to guess which Akatsuki member Noriko will meet first ^^ The first one to guess right will get to choose a prank Noriko will play on a fellow Akatsuki member or which Akatsuki member she will meet next and what that meeting will be like. **

**The members available**** for this contest are: Kisame, Kakuzu, Orochimaru, Zetsu, Tobi, Konan and Pein.** **Just add your guess to your review or pm me.  
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**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey there! *wave* I'm back with a new chapter **_**and **_**the result of my little contest. And the winner is... DyCin from Deviantart!  
>Although she has no account here, she sent a note to my Deviantart-account and guess what, she was absolutely correct! She even knew how he would react (Seriously DyCin, you need to stop hacking into my brain...)<strong>

**Anyway, I don't own anything, otherwise the Akatsuki would have taken over the world by now :) My OC is mine though**

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><p>In the next morning, there was a knock on his door and Sasori frowned. Who could that be? The hideout was supposed to be empty safe for himself, Pein, Konan and the girl. As Sasori opened the door, Kakuzu stood in front of him, Noriko dangling from his hand by her collar, looking miserable. "Could you explain to me what that does in my room?", he asked in a low threatening voice. Sasori glanced at Noriko before he threw Kakuzu an indifferent look. "What makes you think she belongs to me?", he replied.<p>

Kakuzu snorted. "First of, puppet boy, she's basically your female clone and second... She said she was only searching for her 'master' and accidentally walked into the wrong room. Your room is the only other occupied one in this hallway, smart ass." He raised Noriko a little higher and tightened his grip, making the girl cringe. Sasori huffed. "Fine. I brought her along so let go of her." Kakuzu did, causing Noriko to land on her aft. She whimpered softly, but when Kakuzu looked down to her with his red-green eyes, she hurriedly scrambled to her feet to hide behind her master.

Sasori glanced down sourly to the shivering girl who was clinging to his cloak like her life depended on it. Hm, taking into account that Kakuzu had a short temper, it possibly did, but still, he had picked up a real wimp. "If I find her in my room one more time, I'll kill her.", Kakuzu stated matter-of-factually. Sasori turned his attention back to the miser. "She slept in your room and survived?", he asked sceptically.

Kakuzu snorted. "Apparently she slept in my partner's room." Sasori folded his arms over his chest and smirked. "And your partner let her live?" Kakuzu growled and glared at the puppet. "Are you trying to provoke me?", he snarled. Kakuzu was about to make a step forward but Sasori let his cable peak out from under his cloak and the miser stopped. Not even Kakuzu was immune to poison and Sasori figured he would rather not be at the puppet master's mercy and he was correct. Kakuzu sent the scorpion a glare but stayed where he was. Noriko on the other hand was too scared to even notice her master's 'addition'.

"Anyway, don't worry, you won't run into her so soon. We'll be leaving the hideout in the afternoon and will only be coming back once in a while." Kakuzu raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Don't tell me you want to _teach_ her.", he taunted. Sasori narrowed his eyes. "That's exactly what I had in mind.", he snarled back. Kakuzu chuckled. "You want to train such a wimp? Look at her! She's hiding behind you and clinging to your cloak. How pathetic..." Sasori looked at his soon to be student and found her starring at Kakuzu with wide terrified eyes. "You're scaring her. Go away.", he retorted with a glare.

Kakuzu folded his arms in front of his chest and rumbled. "She should be scared. If I need a heart and she should by chance be near..." Sasori growled threateningly. "Don't even think about it. The only one who will kill her is me." Kakuzu smirked underneath his mask. "You won't.", he stated. "And why wouldn't I?", Sasori snarled. Kakuzu's smirk turned into a rare smile. "Because you obviously have a soft spot for children. She's still clinging to you and you haven't once told her to let go.", the miser pointed out. "And you're still here, scaring her.", Sasori said. "You care about me scaring her.", Kakuzu shot back.

Sasori froze. Damn, he was right. Usually he was on good terms with the miser but right now he just wanted him gone for Noriko's sake... _What the hell was wrong with him?_ "Not a word about this to anyone. Especially Orochimaru.", the scorpion hissed. Kakuzu shrugged. "As if I give a damn about what you do in your free time. Just to make things clear: I will not pay for her food or clothes." Sasori rolled his eyes. "I'll pay for it. Anything else?" "No, that's it. Make sure she stays away from me." With that the other nukenin turned around and left.

Sasori looked down at Noriko expecting her to be all relieved, but instead, she had stopped trembling all of the sudden and her gaze was serious. "Get off.", Sasori barked and kicked her away. Noriko stumbled and lost her balance, falling to her knees, but her eyes followed Kakuzu's every move. Her gaze glided over the stitches running down his arms and back before focusing on the masks visible on his back, the miser obviously having abandoned his cloak in the privacy if his room. Once Kakuzu was out of sight, her eyes darted over the floor rapidly nearly as if...

"Girl, are you analyzingKakuzu?", Sasori asked in disbelief. Noriko raised her head and tilted it to the side, nodding hesitantly. "Spill it.", Sasori demanded. Noriko got to her feet and gathered her thoughts before starting to speak. "He is old... Older than you, master, and probably more experienced too." She caught his gaze and looked at him questioningly. Sasori nodded in approval and signaled for her to go on. Noriko shifted her weight from on foot to the other nervously. "The stitches are not just scars. They look too similar to be pure coincidence. And those masks... They give me a bad feeling." She shivered and ran her hands up and down her arms uncomfortably.

Sasori smirked. If Kakuzu only knew what the 'wimp' learned about him just by watching him for a few minutes. He himself found it impressive, considering she was... Seven? Eight? How old was she? "Girl, how old are you?", he asked. Noriko beamed at him and held up both her hands, the serious expression on her face being replaced with an innocent childish smile. "Ten!", she chirped proudly. Ten. Sasori couldn't hold back a disbelieving chuckle.

Not bad for a ten year old, Sasori had to give her that. But she most likely only analyzed Kakuzu because he threatened to kill her. Still... That was something he could work with. If she was learning as quickly as she picked up on abilities, training her within his time limit wouldn't be a problem at all. Sasori sent his protege a smile and patted her head in a rare moment of weakness. "Help me pack my things. We'll be leaving in an hour..."

And exactly an hour later, the two of them were standing at the cave's exit, Sasori inside of Hiroku, Noriko with a rather large backpack. The little girl was happily bouncing on her feet, clad in brand new clothes and with blue ninja shoes on her feet. After Konan had heard from Pein about another girl being here, she had practically kidnapped the small child and drowned her in attention and affection. So now Noriko had a whole assortment of new clothes, most of them blue courtesy of Konan, and was quite happily playing dress-up doll for the other female. Sasori had snarled at the woman, but Konan's glares were just as impressive as his own and so he was forced to stand by and watch. Damn that kunoichi... "Stop bouncing like a rubber ball, girl! You're looking ridiculous."

Noriko sighed and lowered her head, mumbling a "Yes, master" though she rolled her eyes when Sasori wasn't looking. She might be afraid of Sasori, but there was no way she would let him ruin her good mood... "Let's go, girl." Noriko nodded eagerly and went outside, running down the path without waiting. Sasori sighed and followed her, Hiroku's tail coming out and shooting forward. The metal wrapped around her body and Noriko was jerked back by her waist, landing on her aft right next to Sasori. "You'll be staying right beside me, understood?" Noriko nodded, stood up, brushed of her pants and was right back to skipping along the path. Sasori gave her an incredulous look, but decided to say nothing for the sake of his own sanity. One thing was sure: Making that girl callous and obedient would be hard work...

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Feedback is very welcome! Everyone who reviews gets a cookie ^^<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey there! I'm back with a new chapter ****^^ Just two weeks of exams left, and then I'll have time to update more regularly. Got my English exam back already and I have an A :) **

**Anyway, this chapter is for DyCin, because she won the contest. So, DyCin, I proudly present to you, Noriko meeting a future Akatsuki member ^^**

**So, the first real reason for the M-rating: Bad language ahead XD (Now you surely know which member she will meet XD)**

**Disclaimer: Not mine :( But I own Noriko :)**

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><p>With a sigh, Sasori opened Hiruko and stepped out. The village they were about to pass was too close to the hidden village for him to run around in his second persona. He was known as nukenin in Hiruko's form after all. He quickly sealed the puppet in a scroll before someone spotted it and formed a few hand signs. Noriko watched in awe as Sasori's hair brightened and his eyes bleed from brown to green and he got taller...<p>

Wait a minute!

Noriko looked up to her master in bewilderment, finding an older male copy of herself. His hair and eyes had the exact same color as her own and even the weird scar on his neck had disappeared. Sasori gave a sigh and glanced at his black cloak once before glancing at his companion. "Let's go, girl."

Noriko nodded mechanically and followed the scorpion into the village. It looked like everyone inside the village was busy and in a hurry because barely a second after passing the gates, someone shoved her aside and she stumbled.

Out of reflex, Sasori caught her by her arm, snorting in distaste. "Watch your step, girl!" Noriko nodded and got up, only to be shoved again, swaying slightly. Sasori sighed and grapped the little girl's hand pulling her closer and shielding her with his back. "Stay close and don't let go.", he ordered.

Noriko quickly dusted herself off with one hand, shook her long red locks out of her face and smiled as if nothing happened. As soon as they were off the main road, there were less people and they could walk alongside each other comfortably, although Sasori kept his hold on her hand.

When Noriko tried to let go of her master's hand, his grip tightened painfully and he sent her a glare. A village as large as this provided more than enough places to hide and he wouldn't risk losing his soon-to-be student because he had no time to search through the whole village...

After Sasori's little reminder of who was in charge here, Noriko was on her best behavior, smiling and waving at every villager they came across. Good for Sasori's cover, bad for the scorpion's mood. Every time Noriko greeted someone, he had to at least acknowledge them as to not raise any suspicion.

True, maybe he was exaggerating things, but he hated that he had to be nice and on top of that, he meant to see Noriko smirk once, nearly as if she did it on purpose. He cursed the fact that they weren't alone or he would have wiped that smirk of her face. And the long hair had to go too… It hid her face from view.

An old woman sitting on a bench on the side of the street motioned for Noriko to come over and, after a nod and a forced smile from Sasori, she freed her hand and ran over. The woman gave her a warm smile and handed something to her that Sasori could not see. When Noriko came back, she had a small paper back in one hand and a piece of candy in the other.

"For being so nice.", she mumbled, obviously already chewing on one of the treats. Sasori held out his hand, but Noriko threw him a pointed look before shoving the second treat into her mouth. Her hand disappeared in the paper bag, rummaging through it and although she kept her blank expression up, her eyes sparkled with amusement. Sasori narrowed his own eyes and huffed before simply walking on, not even waiting for his companion.

Noriko waved goodbye to the old woman and bowed once, but afterwards, when she turned around to follow Sasori, she found him gone. Noriko's eyes widened and she felt like her body was about to freeze.

Damn it...

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><p>Every little bit of affection Sasori had ever held for the girl had vanished. Now what should he do? He couldn't go around asking if someone had seen his little 'slave'! "Damn that brat. Once I'll find her I swear I will..."<p>

"Excuse me?" Sasori whirled around and snapped "What?" at whoever dared to speak to him. The man flinched. "I wondered if that little lady I saw belongs to you." Sasori perked up. "What did she look like?", he asked.

"Well, she was about nine to ten years, I'd say. Red hair, green eyes, kind of like you, that's why I thought she might belong to you. She looked a bit lost and scared to death, if you'd ask me.", the man answered truthfully and eyed Sasori critically. Sasori let out a sigh. That had to be Noriko. He was pretty sure there was no other girl running around with red hair, green eyes and the knowledge of being in one heck of a trouble…

Sasori turned his attention back to the man. "Could you tell me where you saw her?", he said, forcing himself to be polite and not kill the man just because he was pissed and he needed something to vent his anger. 'Self-control.', the scorpion reminded himself, 'Self-control.' "Of course. She was wandering around the market district. Right down that street.", he replied and pointed at a broad street. "Thank you.", Sasori said and walked past him.

"Is she your daughter?", the man shouted after him. 'More like my victim…', Sasori thought. His eyes narrowed and he didn't even bother to look back when he answered. "You could say so." Lowering his voice, he added "if you wanted to die…"

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><p>Noriko squirmed through the crowd in search of her master. Damn it, she should have kept her eyes on him! She passed by a child, roughly her size and age, accidentally bumping into him.<p>

"Hey, watch where you're going, bitch!", the small silver-haired boy shouted. Noriko whirled around, already on the edge because of losing her master, and growled. "I could say the same, bastard!", she snarled.

Before either of them could open their mouths, a harsh bark made the two children flinch. "Noriko!" Noriko winced and looked up only to see Sasori looming above her. "Don't sink to his level.", the puppet master warned, sending a death glare down to the her, and Noriko huffed. "Yes, master.", she replied sourly and let out a sigh.

"You're a slave? That fucking sucks! Serves you right though, bitch.", the silver-haired boy taunted and Noriko glared at him. "I'm no slave you, bas-" "Noriko!", Sasori snapped and glared at his student over his shoulder. Noriko turned her head away from the other child and cursed.

Sasori had been walking on without her and Noriko hurriedly ran after him. She didn't want to know what would happen if she lost him again… "Bye bye, bitch!", the boy chuckled and Noriko's eyes narrowed, looking back at the boy with pure hatred.

She caught sight of an apple tree from the corner of her eyes and without thinking, in a sudden fit of anger, she attached a chakra string to one of the branches. One short shook and various apples started to rain down on the other child, most of them landing on his head. "What the hell! I will fucking sacrifice you to Jashin, b-" Noriko purposely didn't turn but she smiled in satisfaction. Sasori raised an eyebrow in surprise. He saw her use a chakra string before, but that had obviously been out of fear. She surely wasn't afraid of that little runt and yet… She had created a chakra string.

It seemed that besides fear, anger was the other emotion triggering her special talent. Sasori chuckled and ruffled up her long hair. "Good job, girl.", he praised and Noriko hummed happily, taking her master's hand in her own and skipping along the path. Sasori shook his head and sighed, but a small affectionate smile graced his lips and instead of pushing her away or snarling at her, he squeezed her hand once and they walked through the village peacefully.

Although Noriko was sure she wouldn't get away that easily…

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><p><strong>Please review ^^<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi there! First of all, thank you for your reviews! They keep feeding my muse ^^**

**Just one week of exams left :)**

**Disclaimer: Not mine...**

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><p>It was only a small journey from the village to Sasori's private hideout, but he already felt a headache coming. After returning to Hiruko's safe shell, Sasori's sanity had also returned and he could have punched himself for his behavior. He was supposed to be angry with the girl, not holding hands with her! He instantly changed back to his usual self and the girl's good mood was annoying him once more.<p>

But no matter how many times he snarled at her to stop skipping, bouncing, hopping, she just did something as ridiculous and equally happy as the previous! It was slowly driving him insane! She was his prisoner, damn it, she wasn't supposed to be happy! ...Right?

When they were finally there, the first thing Sasori did was to climb out of Hiroku, loom over Noriko and glare down at her, making the small girl shrink. "Listen, girl, when I say 'Stop bouncing like an idiot' it includes every sort of idiotic behavior, got it?" Noriko nodded and in the short moment Sasori needed to seal Hiroku away, she grimaced. Great, he was back to being a moody bastard... He was probably going to punish her any minute now.

"And for Kami's sake, compose yourself. Cursing, for example, is no appropriate behavior. I will teach you to be a shinobi and shinobi don't behave like children on a sugar high.", Sasori continued, looking back to his companion. Noriko's expression was back to one of innocence and her emerald eyes widened. "You will teach me, master?", she asked hopefully, not quite believing that she would get away that easily. Sasori glared some more, but sighed. "Yes, I will teach you." Noriko let out a happy sound and clapped her hands once. "Under the condition that you will obey me and put all your effort in your training.", he added. Noriko smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Good. We'll start right away. Follow me."

Sasori lead the young girl through various barely lit hallways until they arrived in a large room. Sasori had originally used it to try out his puppets but he had the Akatsuki hideout for that now and so this room had been abandoned. Now he at least had a purpose for it again...

While half of the room was covered in mats, the rest of it was filled with wooden targets for practice, safe for a corner in the far end of the room which sported a workbench for quick repairs and various shelves full of material. The scorpion went over to the desk and wiped some dust of it before rummaging through the shelves. When he found what he was looking for he walked back to where the mats were and sat down. "Come here, girl."

Noriko had been standing in the doorway until now, starring at everything in awe, but at her master's call she hurriedly ran over to him. "Sit.", Sasori commanded and Noriko plopped down on a mat. Sasori cringed at the smile on her face but remained calm. He laid out a row of weapons in front of her and cleared his throat. "I assume you have no experience in the art of shinobi." Noriko shook her head, eyes glued to the weapons in front of her. She hesitantly reached out a hand, but stopped mid-motion to look at Sasori questioningly.

Sasori nodded and Noriko picked up the weapon closest to her. "That is a shuriken. It is a long distance weapon and meant to be thrown at the enemy." He let her examine it for a while, then he took it out of her hand and threw it at the next best target.

It hit right in the center and Noriko starred at it in awe. She eagerly turned back to the weapons and picked up the next one. She carefully ran a finger along its edges before raising her gaze. "A kunai. Used for both long range and close combat. It is the most common weapon since it has a wide range of use." He held his hand out for it and Noriko obediently gave it to him.

"A kunai can be used for defense or for an attack." He changed his grip on the handle and threw it. The kunai hit the target dead center and vibrated from the sheer force of the throw. Noriko glanced lazily over her shoulder before focusing back on the last weapon laying on the ground. She picked up the thin needle and eyed it sceptically. That was supposed to be a weapon?

Sasori caught her skeptic look and chuckled lowly. "This is what you will concentrate on. A senbon, used to paralyze and kill fast, mostly by Anbu." Noriko tilted her head in confusion and Sasori sighed. "Anbu are special shinobi trained to hunt down rogue ninjas like me." Sasori smirked and leaned forward. "And like you, once I'm finished with you." Noriko cracked a smile, not quite getting what he was hinting at but deciding to take the smirk as a good sign, and twisted the senbon between her fingers.

With a determinant look on her face she stood up, turned around and threw. The senbon hit the target on the very edge, but at least Noriko had thrown strong enough for the needle to stay in place. She beamed at Sasori and the scorpion's lips twitched. "You are eager, girl, but..." He walked over to her and handed her another senbon. "...your aim is off. Again, and better this time."

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><p><strong>So, how did you like it? Tell me your opinion, please!<strong>

**Reviews make me happy ^^**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back! With a new chapter and new motivation! (my exams are over XD)**

**This chapter is dedicated to my source of inspiration, because with one single comment, she manages to inspire me for a whole day ^^  
>*hugs you* you know who you are :)<br>The little scene at the end is for her! ^^  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OC and the idea.**

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><p>At the end of the day, her arms both hurt like hell, throbbing painfully. Sasori had insisted on switching arms every few minutes so that she wouldn't get one-sided. The result: Instead of just one half-numb, half-burning arm, Noriko had two and she couldn't hold back a wince whenever she moved them.<p>

Sasori glanced at her over his shoulder, a look of distaste on his face. He was still mad because Noriko had to stop training after _only _nine hours, being unable to even hold the senbon by that point of time. Noriko bowed her head in shame, causing Sasori to snort and turn his gaze back to the front. The little girl looked up from beneath her red locks and the guilty expression disappeared. She glared at the scorpion's back, a fierce expression on her face. "Just you wait...", she muttered under her breath.

A little smirk found its way to her lips. For now, she had to be the most obedient student to ever walk the earth, or she would die in a matter of seconds. But a few years would be all she needed. Still... 'Just you wait, master.', she thought once more before taking a deep breath and an innocent expression replaced her determinant one.

"Master, where do I sleep?", she asked with a slightly quivering voice. It wasn't like she didn't fear the scorpion. _Of course_ she feared him. He killed her family after all.

Sasori stopped dead in his tracks, oblivious to his student's thoughts. He hadn't thought about that. His private lair only had one bedroom, because he never thought he would need more. And the rest of it was stuffed with puppets, weapons, poisons and other things like that. Great. 'Looks like I have no choice.', the scorpion thought and ran a hand through his red hair. "You'll sleep in my room. Come on."

Once the futon was laid out for her, Noriko immediately crawled under the blankets while Sasori was rearranging his desk to fit her in properly. She stayed awake though, watching her master go over some notes sprawled over the desk's surface, before she laid down and pulled the blanket up to her neck.

Sasori hummed to himself. He would have to make space for her in another room, or he would be forced to part his room with her for the years to come and he sure as hell didn't want that. He glanced over to her and sighed. At least she wasn't a talkative one.

Noriko could have screamed in frustration.

What was wrong with her? She lost everything she had mere days ago and here she was, letting the very murder of her family form her as he pleased. She wouldn't probably become anything but a weapon in his hands, but that wasn't what was nagging on her. The fact that she felt safe and somehow happy with how things turned out to be, that's what was got to her head! It was so wrong...

But what was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to feel? Sad? Angry? Confused? She definitely felt confused right now... Guilt was flooding her whole being, guilt for betraying her family in such a severe way and at the same time, she was proud. Proud of having survived, proud of being on the best way of becoming a shinobi in and what was the weirdest thing of all, she felt proud because Master Sasori had praised her.

Noriko's train of thoughts came to a sudden halt. Had she just _thought _of Sasori as her master? Voicing it was one thing, but thinking it? She replayed the day in her head and noticed that she had thought of him as her master more than once. Great... Noriko threw her head back into the pillow and chuckled before covering her face with both hands. "I think I'm going insane..."

Sasori looked up, wondering if the girl had even realized that he was in the same room as her, but a short glance found her peaking through her fingers with a horrified look. Guess she hadn't...

Sasori simply snorted and was about to turn away when he caught a hint of disgust in her eyes. He stopped mid-motion to stare at her. A ten year old wasn't supposed to follow his train of thoughts so easily and even show disgust for his sadistic tendencies. At least, that's what Sasori thought. It wasn't like he knew much about children, but he was pretty sure of that.

Noriko lowered her hands and sat up, returning Sasori's stare with a curious glint lighting her eyes. "Girl, how old are you?", Sasori asked, voice sharp and demanding. Noriko gave him a wry look. "Ten, master. I thought I already told you that." Sasori made a step towards her and narrowed his eyes. "Not physical, girl. I meant your mental age." Noriko raised an eyebrow before she lowered her gaze. "What do you mean, master?", she asked seemingly confused, but Sasori saw that her fingers were nervously picking on the blanket.

"You know exactly what I mean.", he growled. Noriko raised her head and sighed. "I am ten, master, physically and mentally. I only have a bit of a... _special talent_. I have a better knowledge of human nature than others my age.", she answered carefully. Sasori's eyes widened. "Kakuzu.", he stated automatically. Noriko nodded. "I always had a talent for that. I had a hard time learning maths, but things like interpreting facial expressions were pretty easy." Sasori hummed thoughtfully.

"Does this affect your learning as well?" Noriko tilted her head to the side and Sasori smirked. "What I mean is: Do you learn better by watching and doing than by theory?" Noriko nodded slowly and Sasori's smirk turned into something much more devious and cruel. "Well, if that isn't convenient to know..."

Noriko's eyes widened and she gulped loudly. Sasori chuckled silently as he made his way over to his desk. "Go to sleep, girl. You'll need all the rest you can get for the next months..."

In the middle of the night, when a thunder storm raged outside, Sasori was abruptly woken from his light slumber. He blinked and pawned the room. What the...? He was sure he had heard something close to a... whimper?

He glanced to Noriko and saw that the girl was curled up in the blanket, hugging the thin fabric to her chest. He shrugged it off. Maybe she was cold... When he was about to lay back down, he heard the weird sound again and froze. A quick look to the other side of the room, another small whimper and Sasori knew what had woken him.

Noriko tossed and turned and whenever thunder rumbled outside, she flinched and whimpered pitifully. Sasori sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Great, what now? He pondered for a moment before he glared at the little girl and laid back down.

Another rumble of thunder, another whimper and then... a silent, barely audible "Mummy". Sasori flinched. Damn, why was he feeling so guilty all over the sudden? He had killed hundreds of people, why should he care about those few? Just because he took their kinswoman under his wings? _No_, he refused to feel that way! Noriko whimpered again and Sasori tried to block out the sound of her voice. He was Akasuna no Sasori, he knew no mercy and killed whoever crossed his path!

A sob. He didn't feel anything! He didn't care about anything but his art and...

Another pathetic sound from his student and Sasori sighed in defeat. He sat up and glared at the little girl. "You won this time, girl, but don't think that's going to be a regular thing...", he muttered and lifted a corner of his blanket. "Get up, girl!", he barked and Noriko woke with a start.

She slowly raised her head and looked at Sasori with glinting wet eyes and an expression of fear on her face. "Come here.", Sasori said softer than he meant to and Noriko's eyes widened. "Master?", she asked hesitantly. Sasori huffed and avoided her gaze. "Hurry up, it's getting cold.", he stated blankly.

Noriko's face lit up and she smiled in relief as she ran over to her master's bed, nearly stumbling over her own feet. Sasori tugged her under the blanket and shifted until Noriko was comfortably curled up to his side. "No more complaints, got it?", he asked sharply and Noriko nodded, her head nuzzling Sasori's side through the motion. She cuddled closer to him, forcing Sasori to wrap his arm around her if he wanted to avoid it being crushed beneath her, and the next moment she was fast asleep.

Sasori looked down at her in bewilderment. She couldn't sleep because the thunder seemed to remind her on her family being slaughtered, but the moment she was curled up to their murder, she slept like a rock? The scorpion let out another sigh and he laid down, unconsciously tightened his hold on the little girl. "You're one weird girl.", he mumbled with a smile before going back to sleep himself.

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><p><strong>Like it, hate it, love it? Tell me what you think!<br>Reviews make me happy :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hey there!** **I have a little gift for all of you, because thanks to you (yeah, you! ^^)**** this story has over 750 hits alread****y *squeals*  
>So you ever wondered what Noriko looked like in my head? I drew her and posted the picture on my DA site. I'll put the link in my profile so you can take a look ^^<strong>

**Disclaimer: No, sadly not mine. But Noriko is mine! *cuddles her***

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><p>When Sasori woke up in the morning, the first thing he noted was that in his sleep-like state, he must have turned around and as a result, Noriko was now cuddled up to his chest with one of his arms holding her close. His hand was tangled in her hair and he grimaced at the sight. Slowly, as to not wake her up, he loosened his grip and pushed her away from him. Noriko simply turned around, clutching the sheets tightly to her body and continued to sleep.<p>

Sasori's lips twitched as he got up, climbing over the sleeping form with some difficulty. He still had to plan what to do with all the new information he got and as he thought about it, a small smile found its way to his lips. Oh yes, she would indeed need all her energy...

Second month, second topic and Noriko was already worn down. Her arms were burning like hell not to talk about her head. Sasori had almost instantly taken to slap her over the head every time she missed the target and shortly after he had slapped her whenever it wasn't anything but dead center which resulted in giving her a massive headache at night. And the regular visits to base weren't that much better! She was either trailing closely behind him to avoid Kakuzu's temper or was sitting inside of Hiruko as to not get killed by the other members of the organization, which were quickly named and memorized.

Konan: Blue hair, yellow eyes, quiet but nice. Safe with her. Pein: Orange hair, weird lilac eyes, emotionless and authoritarian. Kind of safe with him. Kakuzu: brown hair, red-green eyes, miser, short temper and money obsessed. Stay away from him. Kisame: blue skin, blue hair, shark teeth, hard to characterize. Better stay away from him. Zetsu: black and white skin, yellow eyes, split personality and cannibalistic. Stay away from him when he is hungry, but if Pein and Konan aren't away, he is your best choice. Last, _Orochimaru:_ Black hair, pale skin, no characterization needed. _Stay away from him at all cost. _

Noriko repeated her master's words over and over in her head. You're safe with Konan and Pein, partly with Zetsu. Stay away from Kakuzu and Kisame. _Avoid Orochimaru no matter what._

Right now, Noriko was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her master, looking up at the diagram he had drawn. "So, where are the kidneys located, girl?", Sasori asked, leaning on the wall next to his human anatomy diagram with his arms folded in front of his chest. Noriko frowned in concentration, lightly picking on the bandage wrapped around her chest. "In the abdominal cavity.", she answered confidently and Sasori nodded in approval, although he threw her a warning look. "Hands off the bandages, girl. And the liver?" "In the upper abdominal cavity, on the right side." Sasori nodded again, a small smile tucking on his lips. "You're making progress. Three vital organs?"

Noriko beamed at him. "Heart, lung, spleen.", she answered without hesitation. "Reason for the spleen?", Sasori prodded. "A person internally bleeds to death if the spleen is stabbed.", Noriko explained and threw Sasori a proud look. The scorpion nodded again. "Good. That's it for theory for today." Noriko squealed and jumped to her feet, clapping her hands in delight. End of theory usually meant either routine weapon training which she enjoyed very much or dinner which she enjoyed even more.

Sasori shook his head in disapprove of her behavior, but for once, Noriko didn't care. She might be a well-behaved student, but that didn't mean Sasori had managed to get rid of her happy-go-lucky nature until now. The scorpion sighed. "Calm down, girl. We'll continue with on-site training today."

Noriko stilled. "On-site training?", she repeated, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Sasori turned around and walked towards a door located on the very end of the room. "Follow me.", he ordered and Noriko hurried after him without further questions. She had learned as much already: Sasori's order were absolute and unquestionable.

They entered the room and Noriko instantly covered her nose with her hand. It smelt horrible! A mix of sweat, blood and _fear_ filled the room and the smell of rotten flesh lingered on the floor. In the middle of the room was a single large desk, nearly like an operation table, and on the gray metal surface lay a pale body. Noriko's eyes widened and she uncertainly looked up to Sasori. The small sadistic smirk on her master's face was all she needed.

"A corpse.", the red haired girl whispered. Sasori was completely unfazed by his student's shock and walked to stand behind the table. "Come here, girl, and show me the location of the kidneys." Noriko slowly walked over and stopped on the opposite side of the table, frowning at the corpse. It was the body of a man, probably in his thirties, with short brown hair and broad shoulders.

"Show me!", he demanded and held out a senbon to her. Noriko gulped and nodded, taking the needle from him and stepping closer to the corpse. She narrowed her eyes in concentration and took a deep breath. "It should be..." Her hand hesitated, hovering over the pale skin. 'It's only a corpse.', she reminded herself, gripping the senbon tighter. "Here.", she said. Finally gathering her courage, she pushed the needle down hard into the flesh.

Noriko let out a scream of horror as the body jolted and a muffled cry of agony sounded through the room. Noriko stumbled backwards and, in her hurry, tripped over her own feet. She saw how the "corpse"'s eyes opened wide, filled with agony. Sasori gave the body a blank look. "Hm, he should have been sedated...", he hummed thoughtfully. Noriko gulped air into her lungs and her heart was hammering away in her chest.

What the hell...? She looked at the man restrained on the table and the bindings itself. The single senbon in his side, right above his kidney Noriko noted, stood out flashily against the sickly pale skin. Noriko felt her stomach tighten and grimaced. "H-He is alive?", she stuttered. Sasori turned to look at her, seemingly noticing his charge's discomfort for the first time. His lips curled into a cruel smirk. "Of course he is. I thought you said you learn best by watching and doing. So go ahead! Watch his reactions...", he leered. The redhead took out another senbon and rammed it in the man's leg. The man tried to arch off the table either in an attempt to break his bindings or in sheer agony. Noriko's eyes went wide as she saw the blood gush out of the wound and drip down over the edge of the table. Noriko somehow felt light-headed right now...

She tore her gaze away from the horrible scene and curled up against the wall. "This is sick.", she mumbled and leaned her forehead against the cold stone. Kami, she felt awful... Sasori snarled. "Girl, stand up and get over here!" Noriko looked up only to see Sasori with another long senbon in his hand and the man writhing on the desk and instantly her head started to spin. "I am sick.", she corrected and bent over, soundly throwing up on the floor under her master's sadistic yet distasteful gaze.

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><p><strong>AN2: Like it? Tell me please! Reviews make me happy! ^^<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hi guys! You can thank Eternal Cat Moon and sadomasochism for this chapter. I think I squealed when I read your reviews ^^ Anyway, right after reading them at 2 am I sat down and wrote this chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: Not mine...**

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><p>Sasori let out a snarl as he looked down at his student. She was still sitting in front of the wall, breathing heavily, and her face was rather pale. She covered her nose and mouth with one hand and had the other pressed against her stomach. Occasionally, she would flinch and utter some choked sounds, but mostly she would simply sit there and feel miserable.<p>

The scorpion walked over to her and grabbed her arm to roughly pull her to her feet. Noriko wobbled a bit, but she managed to stay up right, although she still had to cover her mouth. Sasori huffed and dragged her out of the room, not even bothering to close the door, and down the hallway. Noriko made no sound of protest in fear of throwing up again.

Finally Sasori opened the door to a bathroom and practically threw Noriko in before forcing her to sit down on a chair in front of the mirror. "Stay there.", he ordered and walked over to closet. Noriko looked in the mirror. Her appearance was very nice, even with the fearful and sick expression on her face.

Sasori came back, setting something down on the shelf beside her. He unceremoniously pulled her dirty shirt over her head and dumped it in the clothes basket, then he handed her a wet cloth and Noriko cleaned herself of.

The scorpion looked at her dirtied bandages in disgust. "Turn around.", he ordered calmly and Noriko stood up, walking around the chair to face her master. Sasori crouched down and unwrapped the bandages with expertise, eying her chest critically once it was exposed. Noriko gulped before following her gaze. The sight nearly made her sick again. There, right beneath her key bone, standing out boldly against her slightly tanned skin, was the blood red kanji of Sasori's name edged into her chest. Sasori poked one of the edges and the sudden wave of pain sent Noriko into a flash back.

_- Flashback -_

_Noriko yawned once before opening her eyes. She was alone in the large bed, her master nowhere to be seen. She quickly got up, panning the room once more before walking out. She made her way to Sasori's workshop, where she always was when she wasn't sleeping, and politely knocked. The door opened to reveal a sadistically grinning Sasori with a long, liquid coated needle in his hand. _

"_Good timing, girl. Come, I have a gift for you...", he leered. Noriko's eyes widened and a shiver ran through her body. That didn't sound good at all!_

_And although her whole mind screamed 'NO!', she had no choice but to obey and enter the dark room. Noriko bit her lip when Sasori stalked over to her with that crazed glint in his eyes. When he ripped of her shirt she flinched, trying to stand firm despite the situation. But when he pierced the needle in her flesh and teared her skin, leaving a burning trail, Noriko screamed..._

_- End Flashback -  
><em>

Noriko blinked and shook her head to clear her head. "Does it still hurt?", Sasori asked indifferently. Noriko nodded shortly. Sasori stood up throwing her a glare. _"Good."_, he snarled and turned away again. Noriko hung her head, climbing back on the chair, and slipped the new yellowish shirt Sasori had given her on.

She looked into the mirror again. Her emerald eyes sparkled, despite her dull gaze, the rare color making a good contrast to her hair. The hair itself was flowing down her back in silky red strands with a light orange ting to them. The ones in the front were framing her face nicely, giving it a noble touch.

Noriko smiled against her will. Without doubt, she was something special. The smile disappeared though when Sasori stepped up behind her, kunai in hand. Her master scowled. "Your long hair is a nuisance. It will get in the way." 'What?', was Noriko's last thought before Sasori gathered as much as possible in one hand, raised the kunai and cut it off. Noriko's eyes went wide as she watched her long, beautiful hair fall to the floor. For her, this was the worst thing he had done to her. Not the kidnapping, the puppet cabinet, the marking of her body or his cruel way of teaching, _this_ was the worst she had gone through the last weeks.

Her hair was what reminded people of her mother. She had had the same long and red hair as herself and had even playfully accused Noriko of stealing it once. No, not Noriko. She had been Hanako back then.

Slowly Noriko started to realize that the thing being cut off and falling to the ground wasn't her hair, but Hanako. The hair stood for everything she was and had been and now Sasori just cut it off. In truth, he was getting rid of the girl he had picked up and replaced her with what he needed, what he wanted.

Not outgoing but composed. Not cheeky but obedient. Not Hanako but Noriko. And Noriko watched and accepted it. Was there any other choice?

Her family was dead, so she had nowhere to go. Not that she thought Sasori would let her. He would find and kill her, of that she was sure. 'Either do as your master says or die.' That would be her new purpose in life from now on. Noriko watched another bundle of hair fall to the floor and felt a bitter taste filling her mouth.

It wasn't the mess on the floor that disgusted her, or the way Sasori mutilated her hair. She was disgusted of herself and the worst thing was... In truth, she couldn't care less.

With a blank expression, she took the kunai from Sasori and before the scorpion could protest, started to cut off the strands in the front. Sasori stared at her in surprise, but he decided not to comment on the girl's weird behavior. He had a feeling that it was better just to let her do whatever she needed to do right now.

So he watched with his arms folded in front of his chest until Noriko had cut all her hair to slightly above shoulder-length and into shape. He then stepped back to inspect her handiwork. Noriko gave him a blank expression and kept it up when Sasori grimaced.

"You look even more like me now...", he admitted sourly. Noriko said nothing. She made no sound, voiced no protest or suggestion. She simply sat there, her eyes dully staring at the reflection of her master in the mirror. Sasori actually found himself being disturbed by the sudden lack of emotion and quickly turned his gaze away. "We have a lot of work ahead of us. Come on.", he ordered and Noriko nodded, jumping off the chair and traipsing to his side instantly.

"Yes, master.", she said, and this time, her voice was void of any sarcasm or restrained anger. It was level and obedient...

Sasori smirked. If he knew bending her to his will was that easy, he would have cut off her hair weeks ago!

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><p><strong>Liked it? Hated it? Tell me what you think!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I'm so sorry! I forget to say that I'm in the middle of my finals right now so that updates will come slower than usual! Please, forgive me! But I wrote a long chapter for you guys :) Well, long for me ^^ (btw, there are more lines than usual in this. don't get confused, a friend of mine did and complained about the chapter being so short -.-)  
><strong>

**Oh yes, and let me make one thing clear: I am NEVER going to abandon this story. Right now, I don't have much time to spare, but after my finals, I'll put all my heart into it :3**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it?**

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><p>After cutting her hair, Sasori had noticed that Noriko was much more obedient than before. She was more silent too, not that he minded. Her questions were either concerning her training or vital, unlike before, though she was still curious. But best of all, she was finally on her way to become a real shinobi. She was starting to become emotionless.<p>

He had thought that when he would try to teach her medicine again, he would have to drag her into the practice room, but as soon as he had uttered his order, Noriko stood up and readily walked over to the door, throwing him an expecting look when he didn't follow.

At his request, she pierced the needle into the bound man's flesh and watched indifferently when he bucked up and a muffled groan came through the gag. She even watched the blood trickle from his body onto the floor with a mildly interested look before pushing another needle deep into his flesh, right next to the other and following the bloody trail with her eyes.

Not only that, but Sasori also noticed how he was rubbing off on her. For example whenever Kakuzu had a new partner and the two redheads met him, Noriko would always state that "Kakuzu is a nice guy and you should not hesitate to pester him with questions." and then watch how they walked off to their doom. Which, of course, resulted in many lectures from Pein for both Sasori and Kakuzu. The scorpion was always told to keep "it" on a leash, while Kakuzu was, again, ordered not to kill his partners.

And when Pein once snarled at Noriko to stop sending Kakuzu's new partners to their death, she simply rolled her eyes and without looking at the Akatsuki leader, answered that they were going to die anyway, so why not get a laugh out of it? She earned herself a silent chuckle from both Kakuzu and Sasori and a glare from Pein.

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><p><em>6 months after clan murder<em>

"The first rule?", Sasori asked. Noriko raised her head and smiled. "Never disobey your master. His orders are absolute." Sasori nodded in approval and Noriko's smile widened. "Second one?" "A puppet is just as good as its puppeteer.", she answered swiftly. Sasori smirked. "Good. And the third?" Noriko frowned and hummed thoughtfully. "The third was...", she lowered her head and looked at the road in concentration. Suddenly her face brightened. "Master Sasori's life ranks above everything else, even your own life.", she said proudly, earning herself a chuckle. "Very good."

He held his hand out to her and Noriko beamed at him. Sasori smirked. The moment he had noticed how much Noriko graved his attention and approval, he had used it to his own advantage. Whenever Noriko would do something right, he would smile a fake smile at her, or let her sit on his lap while he was teaching her theory or ruffle up her hair when he was leaving the hideout. He would also hold her hand will they were traveling and the girl would crave it more than better food or her own bed.

She reached out for his hand, but the moment their palms touched, Noriko felt a small prick and withdrew her hand. "Au.", she said in surprise and looked at her hand. There was a small red dot in the middle of her palm and she felt a bit dizzy as she lowered her head to take a closer look. "Poison.", she muttered and turned her gaze to Sasori.

The scorpion eyed the green glinting senbon sticking from a small compartment in his palm and threw her a look of distaste. "That's the fourth time. Start thinking before you do something!"

Noriko hung her head and nodded, pulling out a vial and gulping it down. Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that was the right one?" Noriko nodded again and this time, the scorpion's lips twitched. "Better.", he said, packed the senbon back into his weapon pouch and took her hand, this time without killing intention.

They walked on in silence, but a few miles later, they stopped as if passing an invisible line. Sasori pulled out a scroll and summoned Hiruko, looking at Noriko expecting. Time for training! Noriko walked to stand in front of Hiruko and concentrated. Four strings stretched from her fingers, two from each of her hands and attached to Hiruko's hatch. She sent a strong pulse of chakra through them and the hatch opened.

Sasori nodded his approval and climbed in, Noriko settling in front of him comfortably. As long as Noriko was as small as she was right now, she fit in the extra space Hiruko provided, and Sasori didn't have to look after her all the time. She couldn't run away as long as she was in here with him...

Noriko closed the hatch with a single thread, using the gravity to her advantage since her control skills still lacked a good amount of experience and even one string drained a lot of chakra. Sasori took over as soon as the hatch was closed. Noriko wasn't really able to control a puppet yet. Pushing and pulling, yes, but bending an arm or moving a leg? Forget it!

"Quiet now. While we travel, learn your poisons and antidotes.", the scorpion ordered blankly and Noriko instantly pulled out her little notebook. The rest of the journey passed in silence.

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><p>"Sasori, you and Orochimaru have a mission. You need to get a scroll.", Pein stated blankly. Sasori inside of Hiruko sighed. Great... Noriko cracked a smile and patted his leg sympathetically, an action the scorpion tolerated for the sake of the girl's sanity.<p>

"Understood.", Orochimaru said, licking his lips in anticipation. Noriko shuddered, attracting Sasori's attention. "And what is Noriko supposed to do?" Pein gave him a blank look. "_It_ will do nothing. This is a solo mission. You will go alone."

Sasori stared at Pein in shock. "What am I going to do with her then? She will run away the moment I leave the hideout!" Pein glared at him. "That is none of my concern. You will be leaving tomorrow morning." "But-" "You're dismissed, Sasori.", he stated. The scorpion huffed and left the room in a rush.

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><p>"I can't believe I'm doing this...", Sasori mumbled to himself, rubbing the bridge of this nose. Noriko, who was standing right next to the scorpion, looked up at him questioningly. "Master? Didn't you say not to..." "I know. Konan is away and Pein won't do it, so we have no other choice.", he sighed. Noriko nodded and turned her gaze back forward.<p>

Sasori took a deep breath before raising his hand and knocking on the door. There was no reply and so Sasori simply entered, Noriko following without hesitation. "What do you want?", came the gruff voice and Sasori flinched.

"I need you to look after Noriko while I'm gone.", the scorpion blurted out. Kakuzu turned in his chair and gave Sasori a disbelieving look. "Forget it. Do I look like a babysitter to you?", he snorted. Sasori sighed. "No, you don't, but unfortunately Konan is not here and most of the other's are on missions too, save for Zetsu and I can't leave her with him unless I want her to become plant food..." Kakuzu looked at the little girl in amusement.

"Of course you can't...", he taunted, earning himself a growl. "Kakuzu, it's only for a week. She will neither go on your nerves nor bother you in any way. And she is fully capable of accompanying you on bounty hunts!"

Kakuzu leaned back in his chair and eyed Noriko from head to toe. "A week, you say?" Sasori nodded. "At most.", he clarified. Kakuzu hummed thoughtfully. "What about food?", he pointed out. Sasori rolled his eyes in annoyance. "She has food for three days and enough money to buy anything after she runs out of it. And she will not pester you about buying her something.", he added.

Kakuzu frowned and was silent for a few minutes. Noriko was looking at the miser with a blank expression on her face, trying not to provoke him, and she kept her mouth shut. Just in case... Besides, her master had told her to stay away from Kakuzu so even if she was forced to stay with him, she would be cautious and try to avoid his short temper.

Finally, the miser sighed. "Fine, but only if she doesn't go on my nerves. The moment she does, I'll kill her. Got that?" Sasori nodded and turned to Noriko. He crouched down to her level and caught her gaze with his own. "As long as I'm away, you will listen to Kakuzu. You will also behave yourself and you won't bother him in any way. Understood, girl?"

Noriko smiled brilliantly. "Yes, master.", she said nicely and Sasori allowed a faint smile to make its way to his lips. "Good girl.", he chuckled and ruffled up her short red hair. He took out a small bag containing money and a few senbons and tied it to her belt. While he did, he had to bow down a bit further and so his face was hidden from Kakuzu's view. "Listen closely, girl.", he whispered, "If he tries to kill you, run to Pein's office. You will be relatively safe there. If you're outside, do as I taught you." Noriko's facial expression went serious and she gave a barely visible nod.

Sasori smiled once more. He leaned back and looked at Noriko with that slightly sadistic smile of his. "Good luck, girl.", he said before standing up, bidding goodbye to Kakuzu and walking off.

Noriko looked after him until he was out of sight, then she turned to Kakuzu. The two stared at each other for a long time until Noriko finally lowered her head in a sign of respect and said "Thank you, Kakuzu-san.". Kakuzu blinked a few times in confusion. "San?", he asked. Noriko smiled. "It is only rightful to call you 'san' since you are my elder.", she answered.

While Kakuzu thought about her answer, Noriko's whole body tensed in preparation so she would be able to run off any minute. She kept her eyes trained on Kakuzu, looking for any detail that could indicate that he was going to attack. But to her surprise, the miser chuckled. "San, hu? Fine then, girl, seems like you're not as dumb as I thought. Maybe you'll survive the week."

Noriko let out a sigh of relief. Survival: Secured. Kakuzu chuckled cruelly. "Didn't you hear me, girl? I said maybe..." Noriko gulped.

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><p><strong>AN: That's it for today! How did you like it? Tell me please! Remember, reviews make me happy!<strong>


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